


A Quick Fairy Tale

by bluecinderella4



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 00:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8307337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluecinderella4/pseuds/bluecinderella4
Summary: When your six year old daughter wants to hear a princess story for bed, it's kind of hard to refuse her request. So what else can you do but rip off all those movies and make her mother and father the princess and the prince? And this story is a result of said request. A Quinn/Puck based fairy tale.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally a side fic to a longer fic for a different fandom that will more than likely never be posted/never be finished, and that kinda bummed me out because I was kinda proud of the little side story (plus it did take me like forever to actually get done). Then I saw this beautiful manip on tumblr and inspiration struck. So I changed the fandom to Glee, added a few things here and there to fit it to canon, and this was a result. Plus, I love doing fairy tale type fics and this fairy tale is based around Disney's first 3 princess movies (Snow White, Cinderella, & Sleeping Beauty) which are popular fairy tales.
> 
> So this is going to be one long, fairy tale fantasy set to my favorite pairing (Quick) featuring all the other characters in supporting roles and a short little opener and closer that sets up the longer story. And when I say long/longer, do take that into consideration.
> 
> Do not give me credit for the ending image; I just wanted to share it. I believe the credit for the flawless manip goes to http://nataliesassman.tumblr.com/

_"Okay Beth, time for bed."_

_"But I'm not sleepy!" the little blonde protested while holding back an obvious yawn._

_"Well Daddy is."_

_"That's because you're old."_

_"Okay one: no I'm not. And B: your Mama has a set bedtime for you. If you wanna keep spending time with me and Mommy, we all have to do what your Mama says."_

_"Can't I watch one more Disney movie?"_

_"Haven't you had enough Disney for one day?"_

_"But I didn't get to watch_ Little Mermaid _!"_

 _"Wasn't it enough that we sat through_ Snow White, Cinderella, _and_ Sleeping Beauty _?"_

 _"_ Little Mermaid's _my favorite!"_

 _"You said that about_ Snow White _,_ Cinderella _, and_ Sleeping Beauty. _Last week you said that about_ Frozen _too_. _I can only take so much of that stupid snowman song."_

_"But-"_

_"No more buts: it's bedtime."_

_"Will you tell me a story before I go to sleep?"_

_Puck gave a defeated sigh. "Fine. Now go brush your teeth and put on your PJs." The little girl did as she told. As a reward, her father was waiting for her in her room ready to tuck her in. "Alright Miss Beth," he pulled a small chair up alongside her, "what'll it be tonight?"_

_"Can you tell me a princess story?"_

_"Daddy doesn't tell princess stories."_

_"Can Daddy_ try _to tell his precious daughter a bedroom story?"_

_Puck grinned. "Look at you trying to use guilt to your advantage. I've taught you well young Padawan." Beth smiled proudly at that. "I'm sorry kiddo, I'm not good at telling princess stories. Would you settle for some Seuss?"_

_"Mama and Mommy tell me princess stories."_

_"That's because Mama and Mommy are girls."_

_"Uncle Kurt told me a princess story and he's not a girl." She had Puck there. "He made one up from his own 'magination. And guess what: in his story, I was the princess the whole time."_

_"Wow," Puck didn't do his best at feigning excitement._

_"Yeah!" Beth couldn't tell though. "I was the princess, you were the king, Mommy was the queen, Mama was my fairy godmother-"_

_"That's all well and good, Beth, but Daddy's not like Uncle Kurt. I can't tell you those kind of stories."_

_"Try." She persisted. "Tell it like Uncle Kurt where you pretend people you know are in the story. Like you can be the prince and Mommy can be the princess, you can do prince and princess stuff, and everyone lives happily ever after."_

_"Stuff like the_ _stuff_ _in Disney movies?"_

_Beth shrugged. "I guess so."_

_"You're not gonna go to sleep unless I cave, are you?"_

_"Nope!"_

_"Okay so you wanna hear a story where Daddy and Mommy are the prince and princess and they do_ _Disney_ _movie stuff?" Beth nodded. "I can try, but I can't make any promises."_

_"If it's really, really bad then you can read Dr. Seuss."_

_"Gee Beth, you have such faith in me," Beth couldn't help but giggle as her father struggled to start his story. "Okay so there was this princess-"_

_"No! You gotta start with 'once upon a time'!"_

_Puck let out an aggravated sigh and restarted his story. "Once upon a time there was this princess..."_

**_..._ **

...or at least she used to be a princess. A long time ago, she was Princess Quinn. When Quinn was very young, her mother died. A few years after that, her father remarried a woman named Sue, who had taken two girls about Quinn's age in her care. Quinn's stepmom, however, wasn't exactly a nice person. The king really married her because she was a well-known woman with a winning status who charmed her way into marrying royalty. And when the king died under mysterious circumstances some time later, Sue took over. Sue was obsessed with winning, and being the best, and (above all) power. She saw Princess Quinn has an obstacle and was cruel and abusive toward the little girl, all the while treating the other two girls, Brittany and Santana, like real princesses. Sure Brittany and Santana tried to be nice to Quinn, but Sue was always around and they knew how to put on the mean act.

As the years went on, Quinn went from being a princess to being a maid. Sue had made excuses on her behalf telling the kingdom the princess was mourning her parents, or at boarding school, or on a diplomatic assignment, or receiving royalty lessons throughout different kingdoms, or even that she was on her way home but her carriage got delayed. It got to a point where the kingdom kind of gave up hope of ever seeing their princess again.

Quinn did have a friend in the Royal Huntsman, Will. Will was a lot older than Quinn, and he meant more to her than just some random guy on the castle staff. Will would teach her how to read, or speak another language, he'd dance and sing with her, and no matter what, he offered her his encouragement and support.

"This won't last forever," Will would assure Quinn. "When the time is right, you'll assume the throne and Sue won't be able to do anything about it. And that day will come sooner than you think." And Quinn would hug her friend and go back to work for Sue.

Sue, however, also had a sort of support system via a magic mirror. The spirit trapped inside the mirror had the power to show her whatever she wanted to see. At the moment, she was watching the interaction between Quinn and Will. After it was over, Sue looked toward her reflection with a sinister sneer. "We'll see about that."

The spirit in Sue's mirror, a gypsy man who was once known as Figgins, reappeared. Figgins had once been a fortune teller in a previous life who accidentally angered a vengeful witch that Sue was acquainted with—hence him being trapped in a mirror that was gifted to Sue from said witch. Often, Sue would look to Figgins to tell the future. Despite a lot of seemingly incompetent tendencies of his, Figgins was skilled at future predictions. At least any future prediction he made would eventually come true with 100% accuracy. "But my future telling skills should only be used when absolutely necessary," he had warned.

"Listen, up Figgins," Sue began one morning, "I've worked hard to get where I am today and I'm not going to have some younger blonde snatch it all away from me. Just show me something of her in the future."

Figgins' spirit disappeared to reveal a vision of Quinn in a wedding dress smiling and waving to a crowd of people cheering for her. Figures of other people were distorted and blurred. Figgins showed Sue this for another minute before his form reappeared in the mirror. "You wanted to see her in the future, and so you did."

"Yeah, but I was hoping she was miserable."

"Usually one becomes miserable _after_ the wedding." He was the only one to laugh at that. "Please note: that was my attempt at a joke."

"And a pitiful one at that."

"I was only trying to appease you. Princess Quinn looks nowhere near miserable and very much happy and contented."

"Why couldn't I see anyone else?"

"You did not ask to see anyone else." He had a point there.

"She was wearing a wedding dress." Sue paused to think. "I think it's safe to assume the blurred person she was holding hands with is who she marries."

"That it something one would assume."

"It's gotta be someone of importance."

"Like a prince, perhaps?"

"No, there are no other princes in the realms."

"Are you sure?"

Sue leered at him. "What are you implying?"

"Have you forgotten about the young prince from the neighboring kingdom who has been away at school and fighting in the crusades? The kingdoms across the land speak of the prince's homecoming and the royal ball that will be thrown in honor of said homecoming."

"I've heard nothing of this ball."

"The news has yet to reach your kingdom. They were traveling to further kingdoms first, saving yours for last. I would expect the news to arrive today along with a _royal_ appearance."

"Why did you put a strong emphasis on the word 'royal'?"

"Maybe because someone with a royal title will be arriving at your castle today."

Sue considered what Figgins had told her. "Well I'm taking no chances with whoever's coming. I'll make sure Blondie's nowhere near this 'royal' visitor."

...

"This really isn't necessary, Beiste," a young man on a white horse was riding alongside a large woman on a brown horse that same morning.

"It is if I want to keep my job," Beiste disagreed. "I'm your Royal Bodyguard, Punkin, and it's my job to-"

"-guard your royal body."

"-guard my royal body," he finished along with her. "Is it too much to ask for just one day where I'm not constantly being watched?"

"Not when you're the prince."

"Come on," he gestured to his peasant clothing, "do I look like a prince?"

"With that hair and outfit?"

"Okay, first off: I like this hairstyle. And I wear this outfit to draw less attention to myself. But how can I draw less attention to myself with a tough looking woman wearing a royal emblem on her outfit constantly at my side?"

Beiste sighed and stopped her horse. When the prince noticed she wasn't following, he turned around. "One hour." He raised his eyebrow in confusion. "I'll give you one hour of freedom. I suggest you use it wisely."

He smiled. "Thanks Beiste."

"You meet me back in here in one hour, you hear?"

"I hear."

"Good boy." With that, she rode off.

Once she was out of sight, the prince rode off in a different direction. It's not like he was going to do anything wrong or illegal or bad (even though he kind of wanted to). He just wanted time alone to ride his horse and think without knowing he was being watched. Despite his parents never having time for him/always ignoring him, the prince was under constant watch of servants, and tutors, and guards, and of course his own personal bodyguard that he affectionately dubbed "Beiste". And to be fair, the Royal Counselor who would watch him wasn't bad either. She was a nice—if not neurotic—lady that his father had currently sent to alert all kingdoms of a ball being held in the prince's honor.

Which was another thing the prince wasn't looking forward to. He knew it was just an excuse to get all the single, noble women to the castle in hopes that he'd marry one of them. The problem was all of those girls were terrible. The prince wasn't drawn to the noble girls anyway. Sure he was drawn to the more attractive girl, but he liked a girl with a bit of mystery to her. One with a _real_ personality. One who would just be herself.

Problem was: no such girl seemed to exist.

...

A royal carriage pulled up to Sue's castle. Being short-staffed, Will was told to greet the guests and lead them to the queen. When he opened the carriage door, he was awestruck to find a red-headed, doe-eyed woman his own age wearing an immaculate dress and dark gloves. "Hello," Will took off his hat and bowed to her.

"There's no need to bow," she assured. "I'm here on behalf of the King and Queen of the House of Puckerman. I seek an audience with Queen Sue."

Will held out his hand. "Allow me to escort you to the throne room."

"No, no," she declined. "I'm sorry, but I don't like to touch to be touched."

"Would you mind if I linked my arm in yours?"

"Well...I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Will looped his arm around hers. "My name is Will: I'm the royal huntsman."

"My name is Emma: I'm the royal adviser"

His smile seemed to grow in size. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Emma."

...

While riding in the woods, something caught the prince's attention. "You hear that?" He asked his horse. "Sounds like it's coming from this way," he rode in the direction of the sound. A short time later, his horse had led him to the back of a tower. It was apparent whatever the sound was it was in front of the tower. Beside the tower was a brick wall. Puck rode alongside the wall until he discovered where the sound was coming from. "Is that-" he leapt off his horse. "Someone's singing." He climbed the wall and discovered where the singing was coming from.

It was a girl. Puck knew that much was true, despite only seeing her from behind. It was a girl in rags with her blonde hair in a high ponytail. Wanting to get a closer look, he climbed down the wall and hid in the bushes. When he was able to get a better look at her face, the prince was instantly smitten. And when she started dancing, that's when he decided to be her partner.

...

Quinn had been sweeping the back castle stairs, all the while singing to herself trying to past the time. After a pause in the song, she pretended as though the broom was a handsome prince. "What's that, Your Highness?" she asked the broom. "You want the honor of dancing with me?" Quinn shrugged. "Well, it is improper to refuse royalty." She danced with the broom as if she had proper experience, looking quite graceful as she did so. "You're a good dancer, Your Highness," she joked to the broom, "but I think you should sit the next one out." The princess laid the broom down and began dancing alone, completely unaware of the presence of a handsome stranger. So you could imagine Quinn's shock when she came face to face with said presence. But the stranger soon eased any fears she had by taking her hand in his, putting his free arm around her waist, and dancing with her.

"Sorry if I scared you," he apologized as they waltzed. "I just had to get your attention somehow."

"And you didn't think to open your mouth and talk?" she questioned back.

"What, and stop you mid dance?" He twirled her. "That would be rude of me. Besides," he picked her up and spun her around causing her to laugh with delight, "this is more fun." She smiled at him as they continued to sway. "To tell the truth, I'm not much of a dancer."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I hate dancing."

"Well you could've fooled me. I think you're a really good dancer, Sir…" this was her way of prompting him to give her his name.

"No 'Sir'; just Puck."

She quirked a brow to him. "Your name is _Puck_?"

"I'm not too keen on my real name. I prefer to be called Puck."

"I suppose it suits you. I honestly should have expected an unusual name to go with such an unusual hairstyle."

He feigned offense. "It's called a Mohawk, and it's awesome."

"Mohawk? I'll keep that in mind."

They continued to dance. "You know: this dancing thing, it's not so bad."

She raised a brow to him. "This coming from the gentleman who just admitted he hates dancing." Puck simply shrugged. "What made you made change your mind?"

"You," he dipped her and then pulled her in close enough so that their lips were about to touch…

…but she backed away. "I can't do this."

"Yes you can," he assured her with a breathy voice.

"No!" she turned away from him. "You have to go."

He was gentle as took her arm and turned her toward him. "Come with me."

"I can't!"

"Can't, or _won't_?"

"Please. I'm afraid of what'll happen if we're seen together. You shouldn't be here, and I can't be seen with anyone."

With a relenting sigh, he let her go. "Fine; I have to go anyway," he headed for the wall.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"This coming from the lady who just told me leave?"

"No Puck, I don't want you to leave; but you can't be here, and I can't go with you. Maybe if you were to come back for me."

"This is the only chance I'll get to be here. If you want to come with me, it has to be now."

"What if I find you? I'll run away when I know it's safe and I'll find you. I'm sure I can sneak out of here when everyone's asleep and find you. Of course it'd be easier if we had a meeting ground."

"The ball."

"The ball?"

"There's going to be a ball in my kingdom tomorrow night. It's not too far from here. You can sneak out at night, maybe take a nap in the afternoon, and I'll meet you at the castle later."

"I'd love to go, but I don't have anything to wear."

"So?"

"So I think a girl in raggy clothing will stand out among all those women in ballgowns. Plus I would think an event like that is invitation only."

"Yeah, it is. Listen: if you can't sneak in, I'll meet you out front when everyone's leaving."

"And then what?"

He smirked. "Then I'll find you something nice to wear." Before he scaled the wall, Puck bowed to her and said, "Til we meet again." He climbed over the wall, got onto his horse, and began riding off toward the front of the castle...

...where he coincidentally met up with the royal adviser. "Your Highness!" Emma gasped when she saw Puck ride by. She then quickly curtsied.

"Highness?" Will didn't understand.

"Will, I would like to formerly introduce you to Prince Noah of the House of Puckerman." She nudged him. "Bow."

"Oh!" Will bowed before royalty.

Puck groaned at this. "The bowing stuff isn't really necessary."

"What are you doing unchaperoned?" Emma questioned.

"Relax, I'm fine. No one needs to know I went out on my own for a while. But now that you've seen me, I guess we can meet up with Beiste and go home."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Here," Will helped Emma into the carriage.

"Thank you. I shall tell their Majesties that Queen Sue and her girls will be attending the ball tomorrow."

"Good idea warning them ahead of time," Will's quip made Emma laugh. "Here Your Highness," Will walked toward the opposite side of the coach. "allow me to-"

"I'm fine on my horse, thanks," Puck declined the offer.

"Yes, sir." Will watched Puck ride off. Once the prince was a few feet ahead, the coach began to follow. The huntsman waved goodbye to the adviser and then headed to the back of the castle. "Quinn!" Will rushed over to her. "Quinn, you'll never guess what happened."

"Does it have to do with the ball?" at least Quinn attempted a guess.

"How do you know about that?"

"I heard it around the castle."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I find that strange because _I_ haven't heard it around the castle."

"Surely Brittany or Santana mentioned it."

"I was just with them and Sue. The royal adviser from the nearby kingdom invited them to a ball and it was the first time any of them had heard about it." Quinn bit her lip. "How did you hear about the ball from all the way back here?"

"If I tell you, you have to swear not to tell anyone else."

"Okay, I swear."

"I heard about it from a boy."

"A boy?"

"I don't know who he was or what he was doing here, but he climbed over the wall and we talked and we danced and we..." she trailed off, a bit hesitant to confess what happened after.

"You…" he prompted for her to continue.

"We _almost_ kissed," she stressed the 'almost' part.

"What? Quinn, that's...that's...who is this guy?"

"His name is Puck and he lives in the nearby kingdom. He told me they were having a ball and he's going to meet me there."

"You're going to the ball?"

"I'm going to run away."

"Run away? Quinn, Sue isn't going to be in power forever. The law of the land is that a widowed queen born without royal blood can only reign solo for ten years before the heir to the throne takes over. So unless Sue gets married to king or a prince in the next two days, then you-"

"Two days?"

"Her ten year reign officially ends sunset the day after tomorrow and then you will be queen. Because you're of the royal bloodline, you can rule as long as you want."

"And Sue won't be able to do anything about it."

"Hang on for two more days, Quinn."

Quinn nodded. "Alright."

"And while we're making romantic confessions: I too have become smitten."

"Have you?"

"Her name is Emma and she's the royal adviser to the prince. When word got around the prince was coming home, his parents decided to throw a ball and Emma's been going around inviting royals and nobles from all the kingdoms in the realm. Oh, I also met the prince."

"You did?"

"Yeah, he came riding around on his white horse dressed as a peasant so I didn't recognize him at first." Quinn had an inkling Will was talking about Puck, and it pretty much was confirmed when Will noted, "I don't know any royal or noble with a Mohawk."

"A Mohawk?"

"Yeah. It's a hairstyle where-"

"What's his name?" Will gave her a funny look. "The prince; what was his name?"

"Prince Noah."

" _I'm not too keen on my real name. I prefer to be called Puck_ ," Puck's voice rang through Quinn's mind.

"He's the prince," Quinn breathed.

Naturally, Will was confused. "Sorry, what?"

"Puck!"

"The boy you met?"

"He's the prince!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! The Mohawk! He had a Mohawk, he told me himself! He also doesn't like to be called by his real name so he told me to call him Puck! Puck is Prince Noah; he has to be!"

"How did he get Puck from-" Will snapped his fingers in understanding, "-the House of Puckerman, of course!"

"I have to go the ball! I have to tell Puck who I really am!"

"Sue will do everything in her power to prevent you from going to that ball."

"But-"

"But the day after the ball, you'll be in charge. And then he'll know who you really are. Just two more days, Quinn."

Quinn let out a resigned sigh. "Two days."

...

Sue angrily pounded on the mirror. "You lied to me!"

Figgins' spirit appeared with his hand to his head. "That was very rude, and very loud of you."

"You told me there was going to be a _royal_ appearance here—strong emphasis on the 'royal' part."

"Were you expecting the prince?"

"You lied!"

"I did not; I can never lie. I told you the person who would be making an appearance had _royal_ in their title. Did you just have an appearance with the prince's _Royal_ Adviser?"

Sue clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers. "Damn, you're right."

"Though your assumption about the prince coming was also correct."

Sue raised a confused eyebrow to him. "What? No he wasn't, it was just that doe-eyed, ginger, Royal Adviser."

"I will repeat the statement that I cannot tell a lie."

"The prince was here?" Figgins nodded. "At the castle?" He nodded again. " _Today_?" Another nod. "Show me." Figgins' spirit disappeared to show Puck and Quinn dancing at the back of the castle. Despite her anger at this, Sue's demeanor was calm. "That vision you showed me earlier," Figgins' spirit reappeared, "that one of Blondie in the wedding dress."

"What about it?"

"All of the faces were blurred, and I assumed she marries someone of importance; _you_ were the one who suggested a prince."

"It was only a suggestion."

"Your predictions have never been wrong."

"That is a true statement."

"So she's going to marry the prince from the House of Puckerman?"

"She is the true princess after all. In two days time, your reign will end and she will be the queen."

"Yes, but _she_ doesn't know that."

Figgins disappeared again to show Will and Quinn's interaction. Sue tensed up and her nostrils flared with rage, but she still managed not to lose it. "As the only royal heir, she must assume the throne."

A truly evil idea crossed Sue's mind. "She can't assume the throne if she's dead."

"But the future-"

"Isn't set in stone. The thing about the future is, you can change it." Sue left her chambers and stormed toward the throne room. "You," she stopped a random servant, "tell the huntsman to meet me in the throne room, _now_ ," terrified, the servant ran off to find Will.

When Will entered the throne room, Sue was sitting at her throne waiting for him. "You sent for me?"

"Hello William," she was drumming her fingers on the armrest and calling him William—this couldn't have been a good sign. "I am in need of your services."

"Okay."

"Take note that I am the eyes and ears of this castle, William. I see all, and I know all."

"Oh-kay," his tone was of confusion.

"I know you told her, William."

"Told who what, Your Majesty?"

"You're too stupid to play dumb, William. I know what you and Blondie were talking about while you were at the back of this castle."

"What did I tell her, Sue?"

"It's _Queen_ Sue, and it is going to remain that way."

"You can't break the law, _Queen_ Sue. In two days, Quinn is going to take her rightful place on the throne and then she's going to restore the kingdom to its rightful glory."

Sue reached for something at the side of her throne, stood, and menacingly made her way over to Will. "Do you see this box?" Will nodded. She opened it up to reveal its contents. "What's in this box?"

"Nothing, it's empty."

"For now," she hurled the box at him, "but _you_ are going to fill it for me."

"With what?"

"With the heart of our future queen." His eyes widened in angered fear. "You are to take her into the woods where you will be secluded and you will kill her. Then you will cut out her heart and put it in that box as proof."

"No! No, I refuse to-"

"It's best that you do. If you don't, not only will I find an alternative solution to killing her, _you_ will be killed."

Will swallowed a lump in his throat. "You can't make me do this!"

"Uh, yeah, I can and I did."

"This is too cruel even for you."

"Yes, I know. I figured who better to kill her than the one person she trusts?" Fighting the urge to cry or lose his temper, Will said nothing. "I'm sure you can find some way to use the prince as a way to lure the princess into the woods, murder her, and cut out her heart as a gift to her stepmother."

"You're a heartless, evil witch."

"Thank you, William. And can we get this over with: I'd really like to get this done before dinner."

...

Having lost her room, Quinn slept in a corner of the kitchen by the fireplace. She was sitting there reading a book and eating an apple when Will nervously approached her directly after his meeting in the throne room. "Hello Will," Quinn politely greeted without taking her eyes of the page she was reading.

Will couldn't look at her. "Quinn…" he was nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "…I think you were right about running away." She tore her eyes from her book and looked at him. "See I can't stop thinking about Emma, and you can't stop thinking about Puck. So if you want to run away, I'm going with you."

"I thought you wanted me to wait for two days?"

"I think I'm in love with Emma, I just know I have to see her again. As it happens, Emma is Puck's royal adviser so you can also see Puck again. You can tell him the situation and maybe he'll come back with you so you don't have to face Sue alone."

"You're serious about this?" Will nodded. "When can we leave?"

"We should probably sneak away now while everyone's getting dinner ready. If you wanted to, you can even steal yourself a change of clothes; find yourself something nice to wear when you see Puck again. Go do that and meet me by the stables."

Emma hugged Will. "Oh, thank you Will!" she kissed his cheek and ran off.

"Don't thank me yet," he quietly uttered as he watched her leave. He couldn't help but reach for the dagger he was concealing under his cloak before heading to the stables.

"Will!" he heard Quinn greet him as he readied his horse. He turned to see her wearing a simple yellow dress and dark blue sweater over it. Another change? Her blonde hair was down instead of being put up in a usual ponytail. "Is it safe to go?"

He smiled at her. "You look really pretty, Quinn."

"Thank you, Will," she joined him by the horse. "You don't look so bad yourself."

 _So bad_. Will couldn't help but wince at her choice of words knowing he was about to do a bad thing. "Come on," he helped her onto the horse, "If we cut through the woods we should be there before it gets too dark. Any objections to that?" She shook her head no. "Okay," he climbed onto his horse, "off we go."

Will rode to a secluded glade that wasn't too far from Sue's castle. "Before we get to the castle," he leapt off his horse and then helped Quinn down, "I thought you might help me pick some flowers for Emma."

Quinn had a coy smile on her face. "My, aren't we the romantic?"

"Problem is: I don't really know what kind of flowers girls like to get. Think maybe you can help me out with that?"

"You want me to pick flowers for you to give to your intended?"

"I trust you," Will could feel the bile rising in his throat knowing that he was about to do something to forever shatter Quinn's trust in _him_.

With a smile, Quinn began picking different sets of flowers. Because her back was to him, this gave Will the perfect opportunity to slowly reach for the dagger in his cloak. "This might be easier if I knew what she looked like," Quinn was distracted with her flower-picking to notice Will approach her carrying a weapon. "What color eyes does she have?" Quinn finally turned around to see a nervous Will raise the dagger. "Will?"

"I'm sorry, Quinn," he choked out.

Eyes wide in terror, Quinn dropped the flowers and began to flee. She kept running until she reached a dead end spot. The only exit was the way she came and unfortunately, Will was blocking said exit. A single tear ran down Quinn's face. "Will, please don't." She didn't cower as Will raised the knife; she just closed her eyes and waited...

...but nothing happened. When she heard something fall to the ground, she opened her eyes to see Will on both knees in front of her like he was begging for forgiveness. "I can't do it! I could never hurt you, Quinn."

"Then why were you trying to-"

"Sue!" that seemed to be enough of an explanation. "She still has the power and control and she's gonna do whatever it takes to keep it that way. You're an obstacle in her way and she's going to destroy you without having to do the dirty work herself. And who better to do that than the person you trust? I never wanted to do this Quinn, believe me."

She knelt to Will's level. "I do believe you."

Will stood and helped bring Quinn to her feet. "Quinn, you have to get as far from here as possible. You have to hide somewhere where no one can find you, not even me. Go somewhere where you can't be seen; it's the only chance you have to survive."

Quinn gave him a fierce hug. "I'll be forever grateful to your for this; I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," he pulled away first. "And if you ever get scared, just run. Promise you'll do that."

"I promise." He nudged her toward the woods. She waved to him before entering. "Goodbye, Will."

"Goodbye, Quinn," Will watched her flee into the woods praying she'd be safe, but knowing he was the one in danger. Sue was expecting a heart or else _he_ would be killed next. Will decided he would have to get away as well. As part of his plan, he killed a wild boar, cut out the boar's heart, and went to present it to Sue as Quinn's. Steeling himself, Will knocked on the door to Sue's private chambers.

"William," Sue sounded rather menacing when she greeted him, "I assume you have a little present for me?" Will said nothing and shoved the box at Sue. She quickly opened the box to ensure she hadn't been cheated. "I must admit, I had my doubts; but one does wonders with the proper persuasion."

"Do you need anything else before I take my horse to the stables?"

"That will be all William."

Will gave the traditional bow before he walked away. When he was sure no one was looking, he hurried away from the castle and never looked back.

...

Being so deep in the woods was more than enough to terrify Quinn. So what could she do but run? Quinn ran and ran as fast as she could, ready to collapse from exhaustion. But there was no way she would be able to sleep in these woods, so she kept going. Lucky for her, Quinn literally stumbled upon a cottage. Hurrying to it, she frantically knocked on the door. "Help!" No one answered. "Help me, please!" More knocking, but no responses. "Hello?" Was this place abandoned? Quinn cautiously opened the unlocked door. "Hello?" The place didn't look abandoned. "Is anybody home?" All was eerily silent. Quinn headed for the bedroom at the back of the cottage thinking maybe someone was asleep. "Hello?" The room may have been empty, but it had clearly been occupied recently. And the unmade beds did look inviting. "I've broken into someone's home," she noted as she stretched out on the beds. Quinn let out a massive yawn as her eyelids got heavier. "I know I shouldn't, but I could…" exhaustion overcame her before she finished her thought.

"What in the-"

"Who is she?"

"Is she alive?"

"Of course she's alive, she's clearly breathing!"

"What do you think happened to her?"

A barrage of unfamiliar, _male_ voices woke Quinn from her rest some time later. When she gasped in fear, so did they. Although what truly surprised Quinn the most, was their stature. There were seven of them total and each wore a respective color on their shirt and hat. "You're…you're little men."

"The proper term is _dwarfs_ ," the one in pink corrected. "Just like the proper name for my color is _salmon_ ," he directed this to the dwarf in blue.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?" the one dressed in blue questioned back. "That was like five years ago, get over it! At least I said _peach_ and not _pink_."

"Is that really the big issue here?" the brown-shirted dwarf with brown hair seemed to be the tallest of the group (though that wasn't saying much). "We don't mean to be rude, but we have a right to know why you broke into our home?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized first. "I was fleeing for my life and I found your cottage. No one was home, and I thought I'd be gone by the time anyone came home. I just really needed to rest. I don't know how long I've been running."

"Are you in danger?" the blonde dwarf in gray asked. Quinn nodded.

"Do you have somewhere you can go?" a dwarf in glasses who carried a cane asked this question. She shook her head.

The one in orange (who was of Asian heritage), nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't really know if there's room for you here."

"And you'll be livin' with seven other men," the dwarf in green added with an Irish brogue.

"Then can you help me?" Quinn asked them. "I'm trying to get to the kingdom ruled by the House of Puckerman."

"For the ball right?" 'Salmon' guessed. "Everyone who's everyone will be there and those dresses..." he let out a dreamy sigh at the thought.

"Well, no, not exactly."

"It might be faster for you to seek help in Queen Sue's kingdom," 'Blue' suggested. "Her castle is closer."

"No! No, I can't!"

"Queen Sue is pretty mean," 'Brown' commented.

"She wants me dead," the men all reacted to this. "That's why I was fleeing for my life. She hired her huntsman to take me into the woods and kill me, but he let me go."

"The world is always kinder to the beautiful people," 'Salmon' muttered.

"Sue will be at the ball tomorrow. So if I want to go to the prince for his help, I'll have to leave the day after tomorrow."

'Blue' quirked a brow. "The prince? You're specifically seeking an audience with the prince?"

"He knows me."

"Someone has a crush," 'Salmon' sing-songed.

"We all know you like Blaine, Kurt," 'Brown' honestly didn't know who Kurt was actually referring to.

"I was talking about Miss Sunshine here, Finn."

Quinn pointed to Kurt. "So you're Kurt," then Finn, "and you're Finn." She eyed the rest of them. "And I'm sure one of you is Blaine."

Blaine identified himself; he was 'Blue'. "I'm Blaine. And this is Sam," Sam was the blonde dwarf in gray, "he's Mike," Mike was Mr. Orange, "the one in green is Rory," Rory gave a shy little wave, "and finally, Artie," Artie was the glasses-wearing dwarf in red leaning against the cane.

"It's nice to meet you all."

"You know who we are," Kurt pointed out, "so it's only polite that you introduce yourself. I can't call you Miss Sunshine forever."

At that moment, Finn seemed to understand why Kurt referred to her by that name. "Oh, because her dress and hair are yellow!"

"Yes, Finn, that was the point."

"So who are you, Miss?" Sam prompted.

"My name is Quinn," Quinn revealed.

The dwarfs gasped. "The princess?"

She confirmed this with a nod. "But please, you don't have to call me 'Princess'."

"I guess this explains how you know the prince," Blaine deduced, "but not why the queen wants to kill you."

"Because as the rightful heir, I'm legally bound to become queen in two days."

Kurt caught on instantly. "Sue wants to stay queen so she's eliminating the competition."

"We can't let her get away with that!" Finn declared.

Sam felt the need to ask, "But how can seven little guys like us stand up to a tyrant like Queen Sue?"

Finn let out a defeated sigh. "True, I mean, Artie can barely stand," he quickly turned to Artie. "No offense, Artie."

Artie shrugged. "You're just pointing out the obvious."

"This is why she wants to go to the prince for help!" Blaine had a positive edge to his voice. "Obviously Quinn can't go to the ball tomorrow if Sue's gonna be there; but the day after that—the day Quinn legally becomes queen—she can go to the prince and he can help her fight Sue. Until then, the princess can stay with us."

"And how are the sleeping arrangements going to work?" Kurt brought up.

"Oh don't worry about that," Quinn assured. "I'll make a bed on the floor in the living room next to the fire."

"But you're the princess," Sam reminded.

"Not while I'm here. While I'm here; I'm just Quinn. And it's not like this is permanent. If I can get Puck to help me, I'll go back to the castle and I promise I'll repay you guys kindly."

"Puck? Who's Puck?"

"Puck is the prince."

"What kind of prince is named _Puck_?"

"He prefers that name to his given name. If you saw him, you'd realize it suits him."

Blaine oohed before he announced, "It appears our young princess is infatuated with Prince _Puck_." Quinn blushed a little. "And that pretty much confirms it. I for one want to hear all about this. What's he like? How did you two meet? When did you begin to see him as a romantic suitor?"

"I think we shouldn't hear this sappy, mushy gunk while we have our appetites," Sam clearly did not want to know more. "She should probably tell us the story before bed; it'll put us to sleep."

"Ignore him. He's probably jealous that the only girl he sees in years isn't attracted to him." Sam rolled his eyes at Blaine's notion. "Speaking of dinner: I guess you can have some too."

"But it'll be cold," Mike told her. "We had to make it before we left for work."

"Where do you work?" Quinn asked them.

"In the mines."

"What do you do there?"

Artie couldn't believe someone was taking interest in their lives. "Are you _really_ interested in hearing about what we do?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "Why don't you guys tell me all about it over dinner?"

Throughout the rest of the night, Quinn and the dwarfs got to know one another. Quinn was truly interested in how her new guardians lived and was also clever to steer the conversation away from the prince. Of course Blaine and Kurt pointed out how she was avoiding the subject, but Quinn promised she'd tell them what they wanted to know over dinner tomorrow. This gave them something forward to when they all went to bed later.

While the dwarfs slept, Quinn lay awake on her little makeshift bed by the fire. At one point, she sat up and stared out the window at the stars. _I really should have done this more often_ , she thought as she admired what looked like three little stars surrounding one big star. _It's actually quite beautiful._

"Can't sleep?" Rory's voice startled her.

"Hello, Rory," she greeted as he made his way to the window. "Isn't it a beautiful night?"

"Sure is," he looked at the sky. "Huh."

"What?"

"Would you look at that?"

"What?" this time Quinn asked with excited anticipation.

"That," he pointed to the stars, "that's a very rare phenomenon," she tried not to giggle at his accent. "We've got a legend 'bout that back where I'm from."

"Oh?"

"That kind of sight is magic. Whoever's the first person to see that sight at midnight, that person is lucky to have a wish magically granted."

"And you would know all about luck and magic?"

"Well, I am part leprechaun."

"Really?"

"Nah, I just thought I'd make a joke," they both laughed. "I'm guessin' it's a lil' passed midnight now, or just about. I believe you saw that first. Make a wish, Princess." Staring at the sky, Quinn silently made a wish. "Don't say it aloud," he began backing away from the window, "or else it won't come true."

"It's just a legend."

Rory shrugged before he turned to go to his bedroom. "Some legends are true."

She watched him leave before looking back at the sky. _Lucky enough to have a wish magically granted_. She thought about what she wished for before closing the window and going to bed.

…

"Ugh," when Puck entered the ballroom the morning of the ball, he saw servants hanging a giant, majestic looking portrait of him on his white horse with his sword raised in the air. "Is that really necessary? I seriously have to stand under _that_?"

"I think it makes you look dignified and heroic," Emma expressed her opinion.

"It's bound to impress the ladies," Beiste was referring to Puck's reputation as a flirt.

"It was my mother's idea wasn't it?" Puck guessed. "Why is she so dead-set on me getting married?"

"You're not gonna respond to what I said?"

"I don't care what everyone thinks! I want that stupid picture taken down! Everyone already knows who I am, we don't…" he trailed off when a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Punkin'?"

"Leave it up," Puck ordered.

Even Emma was confused by this. "Sire?"

"It does make me look pretty badass."

Beiste playfully elbowed him. "And you didn't care what everyone thought?"

"No, Beiste, I still don't; but they could've chosen a worse picture of me to hang there for everyone to stare at. I guess if you want to make the statement 'hey, this is the prince', that's not a bad picture to use."

Beiste seemed to understand. "Oh, I see."

Emma, however, did not. "See what, the portrait?"

"What's her name, Puck?"

"Okay, now I'm confused. What are we talking about?" Emma tried to piece the clues together. "Has Noah met another girl?"

"Why else would he want to leave that 'badass' portrait up? He's clearly got his eye on some girl he wants to impress."

"She doesn't know who I am," Puck confessed. "I kinda met her when I was on my own. When I met her, I was wearing the clothes I like to wear that you say make me look like a peasant. When she sees me standing under this, she'll realize who I am."

"So this girl you're smitten with has no idea you're the prince?"

"What girl?" Emma questioned. "Where did you meet her?"

"Queen Sue's castle," Puck informed her. "She works there. She said she was gonna run away and meet me after the ball."

"Are you in love with a scullery maid? Do you even know her name?"

"I don't, but I'm gonna find out; later, after this stupid ball is over with. So if you two could help me keep an eye out for her, that'd be great."

"What does this one look like?" Beiste asked him.

"Tattered rags, blonde hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes, dazzling smile, and she's not a bad dancer." He heard his mother calling him. "I gotta go see what Ma wants _this_ time," he hurried off.

"Oh yeah, it's love."

Emma turned to Beiste. "How do you know?"

"For one thing, he actually gave a description that doesn't include her 'hot body'. He described her smile and he knew her eye color. He's clearly in love."

"With a maid? He can't marry a maid!"

"He can if he wants to."

"His parents will forbid it! They'll disown him. And you know how Noah enjoys the benefits that come with being a prince."

"If he's willing to give it all up to be with this servant girl, I don't think it'll matter. And if she works for Queen Sue, she'll probably know about a certain Royal Huntsman."

Emma blushed as she turned away. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And even if I did, I doubt he's coming to the ball. We, however, _are_ going to the ball and we should probably get ready."

Beiste sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I'll see if the tailor's done with my suit."

"Suit?"

"You ever see a royal bodyguard in a dress? Kinda lessens the intimidatin' factor. Besides," she gestured to her body, "this body ain't built to wear dresses." Emma couldn't help but giggle. "Alright, let's go get ready."

…

Puck's kingdom wasn't the only place with people preparing for the ball. All throughout the realm people were gearing up for the big event, There were garments being altered, body parts getting measured, people taking/having a servant give them a bath or shower, brushes ripping out tangled clumps of hair, shoes and clothes frantically thrown out of closets in search of the perfect outfit, carriages being tuned up and waxed, horses being cleaned, vanities being cluttered with jewelry and hair accessories, and a few questionable beauty regiments. It was basically enough to fill an entire montage.

One person _not_ getting ready was Quinn. In fact, she had spent her day alone after the dwarfs went to the mines. She did some much needed cleaning, did the laundry, read whatever books were in the house, started dinner, and at one point, she danced. Quinn honestly hoped that she would dance at some point that day, but it seemed her wish to go to the ball to dance with the prince was most likely _not_ going to be granted.

She tried not to seem upset about this in front of the dwarfs when they came home. "Hey guys," she stood in front of the table when they made their way into the house. "Dinner's ready."

"Hot meal!" Quinn wasn't sure which of them/how many of them yelled that as the men charged to the table and rather roughly helped themselves to dinner.

"I think I'll help myself after you guys-"

"Oh Quinn," Blaine interrupted, "we have a surprise for you." The others chorused their agreement of this and sat in their chairs facing Quinn.

"Oh?"

"Go ahead, Kurt; it was your idea."

"What was?"

Kurt stood on his seat. "I know you won't be able to go to the ball, so we thought we'd have our own little ball here."

"What?"

"We'll get out our instruments and we'll sing and dance and just have a gay old time. And then afterwards, you can tell us the love story of Princess Quinn and Prince Puck." Expecting some sort of thankful response, everyone was surprised when Quinn started to cry. "What's the matter?"

"It's a sweet gesture, thank you, but…" she let out a shaky breath. "I guess I didn't realize how much I really wanted to go to the ball. You guys go ahead and eat."

Mike was the one to ask, "What about you? Aren't you going to eat?"

"No, I…I'm gonna…excuse me," she hurried outside to the dwarfs' garden.

As Finn stood up to go to her, Sam stopped him. "I think she needs to be alone right now."

Quinn sat in front of the garden bench weeping, completely oblivious to the three women who were standing behind her. "She really doesn't need to get herself all worked up over the ball," the one in red noted. "Granted, I can understand why. I'd be upset if I couldn't go to a fancy party in the most beautiful gown and have the fun that I deserve to have."

The one in blue disagreed. "Uh-uh, she ain't cryin' over missin' a ball. Look at her: she's clearly crying over a boy. She only wants to go to the ball because the boy's there."

"Um, no; it's the ball."

"Um, no, it's the boy."

"The ball."

"The boy."

"The ball."

"The boy."

"Ball!"

"Boy!"

"Maybe it's both," the one in green remained neutral. "We should probably ask her."

They didn't need to because the arguing had alerted Quinn of their presence. "Can I help you?"

"Actually," the one in red stepped forward, "we're here to help _you_."

"How? How can you… _who_ are you?"

"I'm Rachel," she gestured to the one in green, "this is Tina," Tina waved as Rachel gestured to the fairy in blue, "and that's Mercedes." Mercedes also waved. "We're your fairy godmothers."

"My what?"

"We're actually apprentice fairy godmothers," Mercedes admitted, "but the three of us really wanted to help you so the head fairy godmother agreed to let us help you together."

"Help me what?"

"Go to the ball," the three fairies said together.

"What? How?"

Rachel proudly held up her sparkling silver wand. "With magic." Rachel pointed her wand near her chin as she looked around. "I have so many ideas, that I don't know where to begin. So, I'm visualizing a horse-drawn carriage all in gold with cream-colored horses at the reins. We'll also need a coachman and at least two footmen."

"That seems very nice, but I don't have any of those."

"We know; we're going to create them for you."

Tina gave her a confused look. "We are?"

"Rachel, we haven't properly mastered the magic of creation," Mercedes pointed out.

"Yeah, and not all fairy godmothers are powerful enough to create a person out of thin air."

"Then we'll be the coachman and footmen!" Rachel decided.

"Do we even get a say-so in this?" Mercedes questioned her. "I don't think we're ready to do what you want to do."

"I agree with Mercedes," Tina agreed.

"But if we use transformative magic, it's only temporary," Rachel pointed out.

"You've got a point," Mercedes turned to Quinn. "You want to keep a memento of your night at the ball, right?" Quinn nodded. "Good! Because I am going to make you the most fabulous dress anyone has ever-"

"Who put you in charge of the dress?"

"Since you put yourself in charge of the transportation, I decided I'd create the dress."

"But the dress is the _pièce de résistance_ that only someone as creative as myself can…well, _create_."

"I'm not a fan of what you consider 'fashion'."

Rachel let out an indignant gasp before starting a verbal argument with Mercedes. Wanting to avoid confrontation, Tina backed away and went over to Quinn. "Sorry you have to listen to this," she apologized to the princess. "They can never agree on anything."

"Tina, is it normal to have three fairies wanting to help one person?" Quinn asked her.

Tina shook her head. "Fairies are very selective and choose who they want to help. The thing is, the three of us each wanted to help you. So we each have to help you together. And like I said: Rachel and Mercedes can never agree on anything."

"What about you?"

"I'm neutral."

"Can't you do anything to stop them?"

"Again, neutral; I don't want to get involved. Besides, if they don't like each other's ideas, then they probably won't like mine."

"You never know unless you say something."

"I think I'll leave the 'saying something' parts to them."

The fighting continued until a stern voice boomed in with, "ENOUGH!" that voice belonged to a slightly older woman dressed in the most sparkling silver dress Quinn had ever seen. It was evident by her wand that she was also a fairy. She must've been a pretty powerful one because the other fairies bowed to her. "Really, girls; you two can't put your differences aside long enough to help the person you all begged to help."

"Sorry Miss Shelby," the three fairies apologized.

"Shelby, please don't deny us the chance to help to Quinn," Rachel pleaded. "I promise we'll all agree on something."

"Yeah, please let us help," Mercedes agreed.

Shelby sighed. "I will give you one more chance," the other fairies blew a sigh of relief, "but for tonight, I'll take over this task," Shelby seemed to float over to Quinn. "If I do, however, it will have to be temporary magic."

"What does that mean?" Quinn asked her.

"It means that the magic will only last until the day is done—which in this instance is midnight. You will have until the last stroke of twelve to have left the ball. If you don't, then the fairies can't be there to help you should you truly need it. Do you understand me, Quinn?"

"I understand."

"Good girl. The first thing you will need is a coach." Shelby pointed her wand at some of the vegetables in the garden. And no sooner had she flicked her wrist that the vegetables melded together to form a magnificent coach.

Quinn's jaw was slack as she cautiously approached the carriage. "It's beautiful." She touched it to make sure it was real. "This looks just like the one in my dreams!"

"I know," Shelby directed her attention to the back door. "Now I'm going to need your friends for this one," with a wave of her wand, the seven dwarfs suddenly appeared in the backyard murmuring their confusion. "I'll take you," when she pointed her wand at Sam, a silver light encompassed him, "you," the same happened when she directed the wand to Finn, "and you two," now the light surrounded Kurt and Blaine. Waving her wand again, Shelby transformed the four of them into cream-colored horses with a blonde, brown, red, and black mane respectively. The horses didn't seem too pleased with this. "Oh relax," Shelby talked to them, "it's only until midnight." She magically hitched them to the coach and then turned to the remaining dwarfs. "I think you," her wand emitted a light that carried Artie onto the carriage in a fancy outfit, "will make a fine coachman." Shelby looked at Rory and Mike. "And you two," she quickly waved her wand and now they were wearing the outfit similar to Artie's, "can be the footmen."

"What does a footman do?" Mike asked.

"Ride on the back of the coach, open the door for the lady, walk her up the stairs, and make sure she doesn't ruin her dress."

"Well, it is the only dress she has," Rory innocently noted.

Shelby laughed. "Oh no, that's not the dress I'm talking about." Shelby looked at Quinn with a smile. "I was saving the best for last," pointing her wand to Quinn, Shelby transformed Quinn's previous dress into the most beautiful ball gown she had ever seen.

"Oh my…" Quinn seemed to have forgotten how to speak as she looked down at her dress. "This is my fantasy dress."

"I know. And I actually have one more thing," a pair of glass slippers appeared out of thin air. "Mercedes made a valid point about keeping a memento."

"Are these-"

"Glass slippers, yes; only these ones are made from magic. Aside from being magically comfortable, this also means the slippers are enchanted so that they'll only fit _your_ feet." She laid the slippers at Quinn's feet. "Go ahead, try 'em on."

Quinn slid her feet into the shoes made of glass. "Wow, they are comfortable."

"And they're yours to keep; they won't disappear at midnight."

"Oh thank you!" Quinn gave Shelby a hug. "How can I ever-"

"Just remember the midnight rule, alright?"

"I promise."

"And you're probably going to need this invitation," Shelby made an invitation to the ball appear and passed it to Quinn.

"Wait," Tina piped up, "what if Sue recognizes her?"

"She shouldn't if Quinn's godmothers are watching over her," Shelby approached the fairies. "I'm counting on the three of you to make sure that evil queen does not recognize her and that Quinn leaves the ball before midnight, alright?"

"Yes, Shelby," the fairies chorused.

"I think I'll let you three pick out what you're going to wear to the ball." As the fairies changed into some new gowns, Shelby escorted Quinn to the carriage. "It's already late and I'm afraid you don't have much time; so make the most out of the time that you do have."

"Thank you so much," Quinn gave her another hug before letting Rory help her into the coach. Once the other fairies were in, that's when it took off. "Goodbye Shelby!" Quinn waved to the magical woman.

"Have a good time! And remember, midnight!" Shelby called to the princess before disappearing into thin air once the carriage rode out of sight.

…

As a sort of obligation, the prince stood in front of a throne in the ballroom (under his badass portrait) greeting all of the women in attendance while his parents and bodyguard observed from a distance. They would watch a routine: a girl would be introduced, she would walk up to the prince and curtsy, Puck would bow in acknowledgment, fake a smile, and on a few occasions he would sneak a "why did you make me do this" type look to his parents.

"Her majesty thinks something's wrong with the prince," Emma whispered as she approached Beiste. "She thinks it's strange that her son hasn't tried flirting with the other young ladies."

"I'm tellin' ya, he's in love with the maid he met," Beiste observed.

"Well you'd think he'd show interest in one of these other girls," they watched as Santana and Brittany presented themselves. "The young ladies with Queen Sue seem his usual type." Santana and Brittany each had a seductive way to them as they inched closer to Puck and tried to flatter him, despite him clearly trying to resist their temptations. "I don't understand; he's not surrendering to the beautiful women."

"Emma, Hon, let it go."

There were a few seconds of quiet between them before Emma broke it. "Beiste, how did Puck describe that maid he met?"

"Tattered rags, blonde hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes, dazzling smile, and not a bad dancer; why?" Emma pointed to the top of the stairs where a new guest had entered. "If that's her, she's got some nice rags."

"Look!" Emma gestured to the prince pushing past Santana and Brittany and making his way to the bottom of the stairs. "Do you think that's her?"

"Could be; she's got the blonde hair and the hazel eyes," Beiste saw the girl at the stairs flash a smile to the boy who would be greeting her once she made her way down, "and there's the dazzling smile."

"She is pretty," Emma noted as the girl came down the stairs. She then gasped when the prince extended his hand to her. "Did you see that? I think that's the first time he ever did that." When the girl accepted his hand, the prince led her to the ballroom and they began dancing without music. However, the conductor soon rectified that and began to play a Waltz.

"Looks like that covers the dancing aspect as well."

"But we established she was a maid. That girl can't be a maid! Surely she must be a princess."

Meanwhile, Santana and Brittany hurried over to Sue. "Did you get a good look at the new girl?" Santana asked Sue. "Who is she?"

"Do we know her?" Brittany inquired.

"The prince certainly seems to know her."

"There is something familiar about her," Sue stepped forward to get a better look, but stopped when a guest threw their drink at her.

"S-s-s-sorry Your Majesty," the man cowered. "I don't know what came over me just now." Sue growled and began a search for a napkin oblivious to the three young women following close behind her.

One person who did recognize the mystery maiden was the prince. "I thought you said you didn't have anything to wear," he playfully teased.

Quinn smirked at him. "It's a last minute dress I poofed together." She realized what she said. "Er, _put_ together."

"Well you look beautiful in it."

"Thank you," he spun her around. "I can't believe you recognized me without my rags."

"I never forget a pretty face."

"You look very handsome as well, Your Highness."

"Ah, you've discovered my secret identity?"

"The giant portrait over the throne is a giveaway."

"Sorry I didn't tell you; it's not somethin' ya wanna go announcin' to the world. You know 'hey look at me, I'm a prince'." Quinn giggled. "I'm really glad you showed up."

"I'm glad I did too."

"I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"You couldn't?" He nodded. "I couldn't stop thinking about you either!"

"Well, I am pretty hard to forget." Quinn rolled her eyes at that. "No, seriously, I am happy to see you." She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was sincere. When the music stopped, he took her by the wrist and began leading her away. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace a little more private." Quinn couldn't help but notice the burly woman following them. "Don't worry about Beiste; she's my bodyguard. She's just gonna make sure no one follows us," he led her outside into the castle gardens.

"Oh wow, it's really beautiful out here."

"It's got a romantic kind of atmosphere to it." He sighed during a pause. "I'm not gonna lie, I have brought other girls here before." Quinn didn't know how to respond to that. "Only it didn't seem so special like it does now." He stared into her eyes. "With you." It seemed natural for them to lean into a kiss, but Quinn stopped herself. "What's wrong?'

"You're being honest and sincere, and there are things I'm keeping from you; things I can't tell you."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I do want to, that's the problem. You're the only person I know who can help me."

"Help you?"

An anxious Quinn began pacing. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be dead. My hiding place was perfect. Now if someone recognizes me and Sue gets word that I'm not dead then-"

"Sue?" That got her to stop. "Like the queen you work for?"

Quinn gasped. "I've said too much already."

"If someone's trying to hurt you, I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe."

"You don't even know who I really am."

"I know you're the woman I love." Quinn blinked in surprise at that. "I don't go around using that word often. I've never felt this way about anyone like I do about you, and I promise I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe." When she started to shed some tears, he wiped them away. "I don't care who you are. I love you."

"I love you too," they were leaning in for another kiss. This time, Quinn wasn't going to back away; but the clock chimes prevented her from getting close. "Oh no!"

"What?"

"It's midnight."

"So?"

"I have to go!"

"Go? You just got here!"

She kissed his cheek. "Goodbye!"

"Wait!" He chased after her, but the throng of women that clamored over to him after they saw the mystery girl running away proved to be a slight deterrence. He whistled for Beiste's attention and gestured for his bodyguard to catch the runaway maiden.

When Beiste started to give chase, a very fast Quinn was running down the castle stairs. "Quinn, come on!" Rachel urged as the princess continued to sprint.

Suddenly, Quinn stopped. "My slipper!"

"There's no time!"

The next thing Quinn knew she was being helped away by Mike and Rory. They had barely made it into the coach when the last stroke of twelve rang out and everything returned to the way it was. Thankfully, Quinn and the others were able to hurry out of sight by the time the king's men came looking. When they knew the coast was clear, that's when they came out of hiding.

"I'm sorry," Quinn apologized. "I guess I forgot about everything, even the time."

"And the fact that I was turned into a freakin' horse!" Kurt bitterly reminded.

"Quinn, where were you?" Mercedes questioned her.

"You snuck off while we were keeping Sue distracted," Tina explained. "After we did, we couldn't find you."

"I was with the prince," Quinn told them.

"We couldn't find him either."

"You're very lucky you remembered what Shelby said about leaving by midnight," Rachel mentioned. "If you hadn't, we wouldn't be able to help you."

"Fairies may be powerful, but they can't meddle with time," Mercedes stated. "Otherwise we would have given you as much of it as we could."

Quinn sighed. "The time I had was magical," she bent down to take off her remaining slipper. "I don't think I'll ever forget it as long as I live. She looked back toward the castle. "And at least I left him something to remember me by."

By the time Puck had made it outside, the only person out there was Beiste. "Well?"

Beiste shook her head. "I'm sorry, Punkin'; she's gone."

"Which way did she go?"

"No one saw. I've sent out some scouts to search the kingdom, but if you want them to go further they'll need an official order."

He tore at his Mohawk a little until something caught his eye. Hurrying down the stairs, the prince came across a glass slipper. "It's hers. It's hers, I know it! This is how I'm gonna find her."

"How? You gonna go from house to house trying that slipper on everyone's foot?"

"If it's the only way, then yes. I am going to find her…and I'm gonna marry her." He headed for the stables. "Are you coming with me?"

"Yes, but not tonight, Hon. It's already late and you're expected to stay until the ball's over." Puck huffed at that. "Then maybe you should get some rest before-"

"No! I'm not gonna rest until I find her."

…

The first thing Sue did when she returned home at dawn was storm to her mirror. "Wake up!" She pounded on the glass.

"Ah!" Figgins winced at that. "It's nice to see you as well, Sue."

"The mystery maiden at the ball; who was she?"

"I did not go to the ball so how am I-"

"You can make them little visions appear in the mirror. Show me the maiden; I need to see her face." With a sigh, Figgins did so. "No," Sue recognized the maiden, "it can't be." She reached for her box. "She's dead; her heart's in this box."

"Are you sure it's really her heart? Need I remind you that the one who put the heart in the box for you was not only her friend, but he is conveniently nowhere to be found."

"I would be impressed with William's gall if he didn't lie to me! Where is the princess' exact location?"

"Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the seven dwarfs."

"Wow, that's a lot of sevens."

"Why must you know this?"

"Because if I want her dead, I'm going to have to kill her myself. I can stall the officials by telling them the princess is on her way home from a diplomatic mission. That should at least give me a day—which is more than enough time to secure my disguise."

"And how can you be sure the princess will not see through whatever costume you will be wearing?"

"Costume?" Sue scoffed. "Please." She pushed on the wall to open a secret door. This secret door was a passage that led to a hidden room in the dungeon where Sue would mix together potions. She made her way into the dungeon and headed for her shelf of spell books. It was natural for her to grab the book labeled ' _Disguises_ ', but she also reached for a book labeled ' _Poisons_ '. "Let's see," she read over the ingredients, "hmm, this could take a while." She threw that book aside and read over the poisons. "No," she turned the page, "no," another page turn, "I don't even have half of those ingredients," she kept flipping through pages until she found the best option. "Ugh, that's going to take longer than the disguise!" Sue slammed the book closed. "But if I want to be rid of her…" she re-opened the disguise book and read through the formula. "Poison ingredients first, and then the disguise." With an annoyed huff, Sue slammed the book shut. "Why is it that whenever I want something done right, I have to do it myself?"

…

When the dwarfs returned from work the following afternoon, Quinn had a surprise for them. Not only was dinner already prepared and on the table, but a bunch of instruments had been placed around the empty living room. "I wanted to thank you all for that you did last night. With everything that happened to you just so I could go to the ball. Well, I thought I'd show my appreciation and put together a ball just for us." The dwarfs began discussing this with each other. "If you don't want to dance, maybe you could supply the music," She pointed to the various instruments. "I found them throughout the cottage, cleaned them, and tuned them." She flashed a proud smile. "So, what do you say?"

"I say we skip the dinner and go straight to the party," Kurt quipped.

Okay, so they didn't actually skip the dinner, but they did eat rather quickly. Afterwards, the party was in full swing; dancing, music, singing, and even some comedy bits. Arguably, the best part of the evening was when Mike hoisted Artie onto his shoulders so that Artie could "dance" with Quinn (Mike was chosen to be the bottom because he apparently was the best dancer). While the sight alone was amusing, it was actually when Artie's sock clad foot inadvertently went under Mike's nose. This caused Mike to let out a powerful sneeze that sent him and Artie toppling to the floor, roaring with laughter.

Even Quinn couldn't stop laughing. "Okay fellas," she managed to calm herself. "I think it's time for us to go to bed."

"I don't think so," Kurt refused.

Quinn furrowed her brow. "And why not?"

"Because you promised you'd tell us the love story of Princess Quinn and Prince Puck," Blaine reminded.

"Yeah, tell us!" the other six agreed.

"Well, alright, but after that it's straight to bed. Deal?" They simultaneously verbalized their agreements. Quinn got a chair, placed it in the center of the room, and the men gathered around her as she sat. Afterwards, she proceeded to tell the story of her and Puck's first meeting, her escape into the woods and discovery of the cottage, and the night of the ball. "…but the clock struck twelve before we could kiss. I never got the chance to tell him where to find me, or even what my name is."

"At least you left the ball in time," Sam pointed out.

"I'm sorry," Kurt held his finger up to accentuate a point, "he doesn't know your name?" Quinn shook her head. "That may not be the best way to begin a relationship."

"To be fair," Blaine began, "he lied about who he was the first time they met."

"And Quinn said she couldn't tell him who she really was," Finn reminded.

"But they love each other regardless," Artie added. "If that isn't true love I don't know what is."

"Okay," Quinn stood up, "I held up my end of the deal. Bedtime." The men chorused their disappointment. "Go on, rest up for work tomorrow." They headed for their room. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight Quinn," they replied in perfect unison.

Letting out a sigh, Quinn looked toward the window. "Goodnight Puck…wherever you are."

…

Puck couldn't help but let out a yawn as he and Beiste continued their restless search. "Punkin'," Beiste began, "you really oughta-"

"No!" he knew what she was gonna say. "I said I wouldn't rest until I found her, and I meant it."

"A little rest may be good for ya. I know it'd be good for the horse."

"You don't have to be here. You can go back to the castle."

"It's my job to watch over you, Hon. I said I'd scour the kingdoms with ya until we found your mystery gal."

"And what happens after? What if we go through every place in every kingdom and she's not there?"

"Can't you go back to where you met her?"

"She's not gonna be there."

"You know that for a fact?"

"Beiste, she's in danger. I _have_ to find her. I couldn't stop thinking about what she told me and I'm pretty sure Queen Sue's trying to kill her."

"Really?"

"Why, I don't know."

"What's this girl's name, Puck?"

"I don't know that either."

"Did she tell you _anything_?"

"That she needs my help. There are things she's keeping from me that she wants to tell me, but can't. Apparently she's supposed to be dead and she's hiding somewhere where the queen can't find her. I figure it's the queen she works for. I just don't get why Queen Sue wants to kill a random maid?"

"Maybe she's not a maid." Puck quirked a brow to her. "That could be one of the reasons she didn't tell you who she was."

"You think she's someone important?"

Beiste shrugged. "It's possible"

"But when I met her, she was dressed in rags and sweeping. That don't seem like something an important person would do."

"It's as much of a mystery as her name. Though Emma thinks your gal's a princess."

"Well whoever my gal is, I'm going to find her."

…

"Bye!" Quinn waved goodbye to the dwarfs as they headed off to work the next morning. Putting her hands on her hips, she tried to find something she could do to occupy her time. She figured she cleaned the inside of her house, now she may as well clean the outside. And it was when Quinn was gardening that something, or more appropriately _somebody_ caught her attention. Stumbling through the forest was a blonde woman who appeared to be in her thirties. Quinn also couldn't help but notice the exhausted looking woman was limping and hurried over to the help the poor woman. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

"I think my ankle's broken," the woman winced. "I wanted to rest, but there was no place for me to."

"Here, come inside," Quinn helped the woman inside. "Sit here," she assisted her into one of the kitchen chairs. "I'll get you some water."

"Thank you," the woman took a big sip of water. "I was so afraid I wouldn't find anyone."

"What happened?"

"My husband and I were traveling when he took a wrong turn—men and their directions, right?" Quinn chuckled at that. "So we ended up in this forest and the next thing I know, our carriage is in the bottom of a ravine. I think that's when I first hurt my ankle. It was my husband's idea to split up and try to find help. That's when I got hopelessly lost in the middle of these woods with no one—not even my husband—around for miles. If I needed help, I was going to have to find it myself."

"How long have you been searching?"

"A little over a day. I've tried to rest, but it's been no use. I saw your cottage and I was hoping I could rest here." She took another drink. "Is it okay if I rest here? I don't want to impose." Quinn didn't respond right away. "I'm not welcome, am I?"

"I don't live alone," Quinn began to explain, "I live with seven other men."

"Oh?"

"It's nothing improper or anything, they're just keeping me here until I can find help."

"Are you lost in this forest too?"

"I was."

"I shouldn't pry; but are you sure it's okay for me to stay here?'

"Well, the men are at work right now and they come home around sunset. I suppose you can rest here until they come home. Once they arrive I'll tell them what happened to you and I'm sure they'll direct you to the nearest kingdom or help you find your husband."

"Oh, thank you so much," the woman thanked. "My name is Terri, by the way."

"I'm Quinn."

"Well Quinn, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me. Is there any way I can repay you?"

"Really, it's no problem. How about I make you some lunch?"

"Don't trouble yourself," Terri declined. "I've been getting by on any food I find in the woods. It's mostly berries, but I did find this," she pulled an apple out of her dress pocket. "I was going to share this with my husband, but I can't find him." As Terri was about to bite into the apple, she got an idea. "Are you hungry? Do you want half?"

"Really Terri, you don't have to repay me."

"It's my treat. I'm more tired than hungry anyway."

"Well...I am a little hungry."

"Get out a knife and I'll cut it for you," Quinn didn't see the wicked look on Terri's face as she went to get a knife. "Thanks," Terri took the knife and cut the apple down the middle. "Here, you can have the bigger half."

"Thank you." Quinn took the apple. "I have to admit, it is nice to have food like this. I've mainly been having soup."

"Don't you go out and pick berries?"

Quinn shook her head. "I have to stay right by the cottage where I'm safe."

"Safe?" Terri raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Safe from what, wolves?"

"Safe from someone who's trying to kill me."

"Someone's trying to kill you? Who could be trying to kill you?"

"I really don't think I should talk about it." Quinn bit into the apple. No sooner had she taken a bite did the apple's poison course through her body. Her eyes widened as she began gasping for breath. When she saw Terri smile a sinister smile, Quinn realized Terri's true identity and tried to choke out the name of the person trying to kill her.

"Clever girl," Terri slyly noted before Quinn fell to the floor, the apple in Quinn's lifeless hand rolling away on the ground. "Though I must say, you took a lot longer than I hoped."

Meanwhile in the mines, the men were digging when Rory suddenly stiffened. Sam was the first to take notice. "You okay, Rory?"

"Somethin's wrong," he dropped his pickaxe and took off running.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kurt questioned.

"Quinn's in danger!"

"You don't know that."

"But I know I gotta get back home," he sprinted toward the cottage.

A worried Sam looked toward the others before dropping his pickaxe and chasing after Rory. Soon, Mike had hurried after them. Artie and Finn exchanged worried glances before Finn hoisted Artie onto his back and they were off.

When Blaine threw his pickaxe aside, Kurt groaned. "What, you too?"

"Maybe it's not nothing," Blaine suggested as he ran off.

"Honestly," with a sigh, Kurt threw aside his pickaxe and began making his way toward the cottage. Eventually, a sense of dread came over him and he rushed to catch up with the others.

Naturally, Terri/Sue anticipated their arrival and had locked the doors and windows. Five of the dwarfs tried to break down the door while Finn and Artie threw rocks at the main window to break it enough for one of them to climb through. When Finn managed to break the window, Artie instructed him to carry him to the window so that he could reach the lock on the window inside. Artie stuck his arm through, turned the lock, pulled his arm out, and opened the window. "Guys, it's open!" Finn pushed Artie in. Because Mike was the most nimble, he also climbed in through the window so that he could open the door (Artie was probably going to struggle to stand without his cane anyway).

After the rest of the dwarfs burst through the door, that's when they came across a pale and lifeless Quinn laying on the floor.

"Quinn?" Blaine was the first to approach the body. He hesitated before he felt for a pulse. "I can't feel a pulse."

"Is she breathing?" Sam questioned.

"I don't think so." Blaine grabbed her arm. "She's cold and stiff."

"Oh my God, she's dead," Kurt concluded.

"How?" Artie didn't understand.

"Look!" Finn went over to where the apple had rolled. "I don't think this was here when we left." He was about to take a bite.

"DON'T EAT THAT!" Kurt stopped him from doing so. "It's poison!"

"How do you know?"

"Quinn clearly took a bite out of it and it was poisoned. And I have a pretty good idea who poisoned her."

"Sue," the other five were also in agreement.

"But Quinn wouldn't take anything from the woman who was trying to kill her."

"She must've been wearin' a disguise," Rory deduced. "Quinn wouldn't open the door if Sue was on the other side."

"Is there anything we can do for Quinn?" Mike asked. "Maybe we can give her something."

"Even if I knew what poison she took, I still wouldn't know what to do," Blaine explained. "I don't think any of us know what to do."

"This is all our fault," Artie had struggled to make his way over to Quinn. "We never should have left her alone." He took Quinn's cold, stiff hand in his and began to sob. "We're so sorry Princess."

With nothing else to do, the other dwarfs bowed their heads and wept.

…

After searching everywhere else, Puck and Beiste made their way to Sue's kingdom. "This is the last place we haven't looked," Beiste noted.

"Not necessarily," Puck rode toward the woods. "There's an entrance to the woods around here somewhere."

"You think she's hidin' in the woods?"

"I'm gonna find out," he started leading his horse toward the entrance. "We'll cover more ground if we split up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Puck nodded. "Where should we agree to meet?"

"Back at my castle."

"And what if we don't find her in the woods."

"We'll find her somewhere else," he rode off into the woods. With a sigh, Beiste rode in the opposite direction.

An out of disguise Sue, meanwhile, was watching this from her mirror. "Oh you'll find her alright," she chuckled. "Just not alive."

…

Because the dwarfs couldn't find it in their hearts to bury the princess, they set to work on making a glass coffin. Their plan was to put Quinn in the glass coffin and place her in a nearby meadow where they could keep watch over her. Ironically, the bed they had started to make for Quinn at the mines they would now use for her coffin. Together the men spent the night, and most of the morning finishing it. Once it was done, they placed Quinn's body into the coffin (seeing to it that she was wearing her glass slipper as a tribute) and set off on the arduous task of carrying her to the meadow.

At about that time, Puck was lost in the woods (though he wouldn't admit it). As he continued his search, he noticed something going on in the distance. He guided his horse over toward a parade of dwarfs carrying a glass coffin. "What's going on?"

The dwarfs set the coffin down. Once it was down, Blaine stepped forward. "I'm sorry traveler, but we can't help you right now. If you'll just be patient, we-"

"This can't wait," Puck cut him off. "I'm looking for someone, but I don't know where she is; and as of this moment, I don't know where I am. She's a beautiful blonde with hazel eyes and—I know this is gonna sound crazy—she was either wearing rags or a ball gown...maybe both." The dwarfs didn't respond. "Doesn't sound familiar?" Though there was more silence, there were changes in the dwarfs' expressions that Puck couldn't really read. "Have you seen her or not? Could I get a straight answer please? It's really important that I find her. I don't know where this girl is, but she's in danger."

"We know who you are Your Highness," Kurt sighed and backed away, "and we know who you're looking for." Without using words, the other dwarfs gestured to the coffin.

With an unsure look, Puck got off his horse and slowly made his way to the coffin. It was after he peered into the coffin that his search ended. "No!" He staggered back in disbelief. "Wh-how did this happen?"

"I think we should start by telling you that her name is Quinn," Kurt told him. " _Princess_ Quinn."

" _Princess_?"

"We couldn't protect her from her stepmother, Queen Sue," Mike lamented.

"We found her lifeless body on the floor when we came home," Artie clarified. "She died after she ate a poisoned apple."

"She's so pretty we didn't have the heart to bury her," Finn added.

"So we made this coffin for her and we're gonna place it in the nearby meadow so everyone can see how beautiful Quinn is," Sam concluded.

"Come on guys," the diminutive men lifted the coffin and started toward their destination.

"Wait!" Puck stopped them. "Can I at least say goodbye?"

Blaine nodded his approval and gestured for the others to put the coffin down. As they did, they seemed to have lost their footing or balance, and the coffin dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

But the sound that followed the thud was a very faint cough. Because most of the dwarfs were trying to collect their bearings, Puck was the first to notice that the coughing was coming from inside the coffin. "QUINN!" he quickly threw the lid off the coffin and knelt beside it.

Of course he was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. Still, Quinn blinked in astonished bewilderment thinking she was dreaming. "I'm dreaming." Puck grinned as he offered his hand out in front of her, which Quinn was hesitant to take. When her hand made contact with his, she gasped. "This can't be real."

Grasping the princess' hand in his, the prince pulled her up. "I'd say this is pretty real, wouldn't you?"

Quinn smiled her dazzling smile. "You found me."

Puck still had that grin on his face as got down on one knee, reached for something on his person, and finally presented Quinn's other slipper as if it was an engagement ring. Giggling, Quinn allowed her prince to place the slipper on her bare foot. After he did, he stood back up, looked his princess in her eyes, and simply said, "I found you."

At last, the two finally kissed amidst the celebration of the dwarfs. Once the kissing was done, Puck scooped Quinn in his arms, lifted her onto his horse, let her say her goodbyes to the dwarfs, and the couple rode off into the sunset.

…

Sue was in an unusually happy mood when she entered the dining room the following morning. "Good morning," she greeted with glee.

"Something's up," Santana whispered to Brittany.

"Yeah, the ceiling," Brittany whispered back.

"No, Britt, that's not what I meant."

"Girls," Sue was leaning toward Santana and Brittany, "would you care to share?"

"Brittany and I couldn't help but notice you're unusually happy this morning."

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because it's never a good sign when you're happy."

"You're always cranky in the mornings," Brittany reminded.

"A fair observation," Sue noted. "I know I don't usually emit positivity; but since the princess ran away, things have been pleasant."

Santana scoffed. "Yeah, 'ran away'. What'd you really do to her, Sue?"

"I have no idea to what you could be referring." The servants brought in the breakfast and beverages. "Thank you."

Becky, the royal messenger, ran into the dining room. "Your Majesty," she bowed, "I have news from one of our neighboring kingdoms."

"Do you?"

"There's going to be a royal wedding! The House of Puckerman has announced that Prince Noah has chosen his princess bride."

"Has he?" Sue raised her goblet to her lips.

"He's marrying Princess Quinn!"

Sue spat out her drink as Santana snickered. "I thought she ran away," Brittany innocently pointed out.

Santana was clearly enjoying this and had a hint of sass in her tone when she replied, "I guess she ran away to get married."

Without saying anything, Sue angrily rose from her seat and stormed to her chambers. Furious, she began pounding on the mirror. Figgins was cringing as his spirit appeared. "There are less violent, and more _quiet_ ways to get my attention."

"How is she alive?" Sue demanded to know. "I killed her myself with a poison apple!"

"The apple was dislodged. Therefore the poison was out of her system."

"How did the prince even find her?"

"His non-stop searching paid off and he brought her back to his castle yesterday. This morning they officially announced their engagement to the public and tomorrow they will be married."

"I don't believe you." Figgins disappeared and in his place was the happy couple standing atop the castle balcony waving to the public while Beiste proudly looked on in the background. Sue growled and began a frenzied pace. "Well mixing potions was useless. I'm going to need to use magic to destroy her once and for all."

Figgins quickly reappeared. "I must strongly advise you not to use magic!"

"I've decided I want to enter the portal into the mirror."

"That is a bad idea!"

"This enchanted mirror is the only gateway into the magic world that I know of, and I need access to it."

"You do not understand the price of magic."

"Whatever price I'll pay it."

"Might I suggest that you mix some more potions?"

"Those did me no good. I need a magic curse that'll destroy Blondie once and for all."

"You have to be sure that you know what you want to get with magic and that you get it. You are mortal, the magic will be temporary. If you do not succeed in accomplishing what you want with the magic, then you will meet a fate more cruel than even mine. All magic comes with a price."

"I will pay it," Sue was adamant. "Now let me into the magic world."

Figgins sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." The mirror violently shook until a portal surrounded the area where the mirror rested. Taking a deep breath, Sue proudly marched through the portal.

…

Quinn modeled her new dress for Puck later that afternoon. "So," she twirled around, "what do you think?"

"You look beautiful," he was rather monotonous when he complimented her.

She raised her brow to him. "You said the exact same thing about the last couple of dresses."

"I thought girls never got tired of being told they're beautiful?"

"True, but I want you to be honest. You can't say I look beautiful in everything I try on."

"I am being honest. You do look beautiful in everything you wear: the rags, the ball gown, the yellow dress, those other dresses you've modeled for me, and your wedding dress."

"You haven't seen me in my wedding dress."

"No, but you're still gonna be beautiful; maybe even more so."

"Thank you," she rewarded him with a peck on the cheek. "Now, what is this surprise you have for me?"

"Come on," he took her by the hand and led her to the garden.

"Are we recreating our night at the ball?"

"Nope," he stopped in front of a statue.

"Is this new?"

"Nah, it's been here practically forever."

"Is it my surprise? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice statute, but-"

"It's not your surprise," this wasn't Puck who responded. This voice belonged to the man who had been hiding behind the statue.

And in all honesty, Quinn was truly surprised when Will stepped into view. "Will!" she ran into his arms for a friendly embrace.

"You didn't really think I'd miss your wedding, did you?"

"I figured a certain Royal Adviser may have had something to do with you being here." Will chuckled at that. "What are you doing here?"

"I arrived at the castle yesterday while Puck was gone and told them what was going on I wanted to see you yesterday, but they thought it'd be best if I waited until you got settled. And with Emma being the smart, beautiful, amazing woman she is, came up with the idea of me surprising you."

"I'm sensing I should toss my wedding bouquet in Emma's direction tomorrow." Will smiled sheepishly. "I'm so glad you're here," she gave him another hug. "I was afraid I'd never see you again."

"I was afraid I'd never see _you_ again."

"Will, Sue found out. I don't know how, but she did. She found out and she disguised herself as a lost woman and offered me a poisoned apple. If she was capable of that, I was afraid of what she could've done to you for lying to her."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" this new, yet familiar voice startled the group. When they turned around, they discovered the voice belonged to Sue. The men instinctively shielded Quinn, despite not having any available weapons to fight with. "I really felt quite distressed at not receiving an invitation to your impending nuptials—I am still family after all." She noticed a frightened Quinn was holding on to a determined looking Puck. "I'm guessing you're going to marry _that_."

"Get. Out," Puck demanded through gritted teeth.

Sue 'tsked'. "Such manners—I bet you were the one who 'lost' my invitation." Sue made some sort of "oh well" type noise as she shrugged. "Can't say that I don't blame you. I did try to kill the princess bride on at least two separate occasions. Well, you know what they say," Sue conjured a ball of fire out of thin air over her hands, "third time's the charm." She noticed their shock and awe. "Oh, this?" she made the fire disappear, then reappear. "Yeah, I've recently acquired some dark magic far better than any potion. It comes with limits though," the fireball disappeared. "The magic is for show and I can't use it to actually kill anyone with." Sue feigned a defeated sigh. "A pity. I was hoping this time I might get lucky," without warning, she sent a streak of fire towards the heroes. Because Quinn seemed to be top priority, Will pulled her away as Puck pushed her off of him. In the process, Puck was struck by the firestream.

"PUCK!" Quinn hurried over to her fallen prince and knelt beside him as he winced in agony.

"Like I said, I can't kill. Maim, yes; maim, hurt, injure, damage, wound, any variation of those adjectives I can do." No one noticed Will run off as Sue inched closer to Quinn. "So you really have no idea what I'm capable of-" Sue was cut off when a stone hit her on the back of the head.

The stone thrower was Will, and he was ready to throw another one at her. "Back off, Sue."

"Or what, William, you'll throw another rock at me?" Will did so, but Sue deflected it with her magic. "I'm going to enjoy this," Sue zapped Will with her magic and turned him into a stone statue much to Quinn's horror. "Too bad it's only temporary; I do prefer him like that," Sue approached Quinn. "As I was saying before I was _rudely_ interrupted: you really have no idea what I'm capable of. Huh, I guess I wasn't really interrupted. Regardless, you get what I'm saying."

Quinn stood to her stepmother's level. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be."

"You can't kill me. You said so yourself: your magic can't kill anyone."

"Which is why I have something else in mind for you," with another use of her magic, Sue and Quinn disappeared.

"QUINN!" Puck immediately hurried up and frantically called out for his princess as Beiste hurried over to him.

Emma was also running to the gardens. "What's going on?" She gasped when she saw new statue. "Will!" she ran to her petrified beloved.

"What happened?" Beiste questioned. "Who did that to Will?"

"Three guesses who," Puck replied.

"It was Sue, wasn't it?"

"Beiste, she's too powerful. She's got magic now and she-" the ground shaking beneath him prevented him from continuing. He and the women watched as a forest of thorns sprouted from the ground blocking the fastest way to Sue's kingdom. "She's taken Quinn back to her castle."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't; but how else would you explain the frickin' thorn forest blocking the path to her castle? That's where she must've taken Quinn." He started to fast-walk toward the castle. "And that's where I have to go."

"You'll get lost if you try to go through the woods."

"I know; I'm not going through the woods. That path may be blocked with thorns, but it's the fastest way to get to Quinn."

"I'm going with you."

"No! This is something I have to do alone. I need you to here in case Sue tries to attack the castle."

"Here," Beiste handed him her sword, "the faster you get goin', the better."

Emma seemed to agree because she had ushered Puck's horse over to him. "I agree."

"Thanks gals," he thanked the women as he climbed onto his horse.

"Be careful, Puck," this was one of the first instances Emma referred to the prince by his nickname.

"Sue's magic can't kill anyone, so I know I'm gonna get through that thorn forest. I heard her say somethin' 'bout Will's spell being temporary, so anything she conjures up won't last. I don't know what she has planned for Quinn, but I know I have to get there fast."

"Go get her, Punkin'," Beiste rallied for him as he took off toward Sue's castle.

...

Sue had transported her and Quinn to the tallest tower of her castle—the one that stood in the back of the castle behind the wishing well. Standing on the tower balcony, Sue created the barrier between her kingdom and Puck's. "Let's see your Prince Charming get through that."

"That was really stupid on your part," Quinn was challenging Sue. "Now he knows I'm here and he'll come for me."

"I'm counting on that. My magic seems to be stronger at my castle because that's where I first got it."

" _My_ castle."

"I see we've grown a bit of a backbone." It appeared Sue was about to use her magic on Quinn, but she didn't. Sue used her magic to make a canopy bed appear out of thin air. "That's kinda like your old bed, right?"

"What are you doing?"

"I neglected to tell you something back in the garden: because of my connections, I was granted access to a magic realm. Said realm is where I made a pact to destroy you once and for all."

"Your magic can't kill me."

"True, but like I said: the magic was for show. I have something else in mind for you." Quinn kept steadfast. "Ever hear of the _Sleeping Death_? No, of course you haven't. What you do is you curse someone so they fall into a deep sleep—that's the 'sleeping' part." Sue didn't continue.

"What about the death part?" Quinn prompted.

"The curse is a slow process. When the victim is stricken, they fall into a deep sleep. It takes a good while for it to reach its full effect. Once it does," Sue smiled an evil smile, "that's where the 'death' part comes in." Quinn gasped in understanding. "Tragically, there is an antidote: True Love's Kiss. It's not like he'll get the chance to use it though. By the time he gets here, the death part should have taken effect." Quinn ran for the door, but Sue used her magic to close and lock it. Turning to face Quinn, Sue began speaking what seemed like Latin or gibberish (or both). When the incantation was complete: a torrent of magic formed and surrounded Quinn, swirling around her at great speed and stopping once Quinn had fallen to the floor. "Hmm," Sue searched for a pulse on Quinn, but there wasn't one, "that method sure as hell was faster than the apple."

Meanwhile, Santana and Brittany had noticed something ominous happening inside the tower and rushed outside as whatever it was came to an end. "Whatever happened up there can't be good," Santana noted.

"It looked magical though," Brittany observed.

"Either way, no me gusta," the girls watched as Sue came from the other side of the tower balcony to bask in her victory. "That sight doesn't sit well with me either."

"Maybe Sue's got magic now and she used it on Quinn for something really, really bad," Brittany suggested as she looked up at Sue.

"Brittany, that's-" Santana stopped herself, "-that's actually not that dumb of an idea."

"I thought something was up when all those sharp looking trees randomly popped up."

"Huh," Santana looked at the forest of thorns, "how did I not notice that?" A thought crossed Santana's mind. "It's probably there to stop Prince Charming from coming to the rescue."

"I thought Quinn was marrying Prince _Noah_ ; who's Prince Charming?"

"Never mind, Britt. Let's just get out of here before Sue decides to-"

"I wanna stay and help."

"What?"

"I like Quinn; I miss when we were friends and we hung out together. Quinn was never as mean to us as Sue was and she doesn't deserve whatever Sue did to her. I want to help Quinn so we can all be friends again."

"If we stay here, somethin' bad's gonna happen to us! _We_ could get killed! No, I'm getting out of here."

"It's your choice, but I'm going to help" Brittany headed back into the castle leaving Santana behind.

…

Getting past that forest of thorns wasn't an easy task. Both Puck and his sword suffered some damage and had been somewhat weakened by the time Puck had made it to the castle. Oddly enough, Sue had generously lowered the drawbridge for the prince to enter the castle. Ulterior motives were the first thoughts to cross Puck's mind so he kept his guard up as he left his horse at the front of the castle and cautiously charged inside…

…where the armored knight statues had come to life ready to fight him. "You have got to be kidding."

The statues began to attack. Puck deflected a few of their blows and struck some of the statues with his sword, but there were too many of them. The metal fighters were also equipped with different weapons. Like the mace one of the knights used to hit the prince from behind and send him to the ground. As that one prepared to strike Puck again, its helmet went flying off its body.

Before Puck could even process what had just happened, a manicured hand extended toward him. "Come on," it was a girl who said that, that much Puck knew. Puck took her hand and she helped him off the ground and toward a secret passage entrance. As she did, Puck noticed there was another girl fending off the statues trying to follow them. "That looks pretty bad." He finally noticed the girl who helped him was a blonde. "We should probably take care of your injuries."

"No," Puck protested! "I have to-" he winced as he tried to sit upright, "-I have to-"

"You're not going anywhere," the other, dark-haired girl had caught up with them and closed the passage entrance.

The prince gave some sort of scoff. "I had a feeling I'd die surrounded by hot girls."

"Ugh," Santana rolled her eyes at that. "We're not gonna kill you. We're gonna help you."

"I remember you two from the ball. Aren't you like cronies of Sue or something? Why are you helping me?"

"I'm Brittany, that's Santana, and we want to help you save Quinn," Brittany cleared that up for him. "Sue took her to the back tower and she did something to her."

"What did she do?"

"I don't know, but it looked magic."

"We know you want to play hero and rescue the damsel," Santana began, "but you can't do that in the condition you're in."

"First we gotta make you better."

"And fast."

"How?" Puck questioned them.

Brittany turned to Santana. "Yeah Santana, how?"

"I'm open to suggestions," this was Santana's way of admitting she had no idea.

"Maybe we can help," everyone was surprised by a new voice. This voice belonged to Rachel, who had Tina and Mercedes close behind her.

Puck blinked in surprise. "Have I lost consciousness or somethin'?"

Rachel huffed. "Do you want our help or not?"

"Who are you?" Santana questioned.

" _What_ are you?" Puck couldn't help but ask.

"We're Quinn's fairy godmothers," Tina introduced. "We're here to help her by helping him."

"How?" Tina waved her wand over Puck. "The hell did you-" he was cut off when he felt his strength return.

"I've given you rejuvenation," Tina explained as Puck stood up, "you're going to need your strength to fight."

"You're also going to need this," using her wand, Mercedes made a shield magically appear in Puck's hand. "It can protect you from Sue's magic."

"And for the finishing touch," Rachel flicked her wand at Puck's damaged sword.

Puck looked at the sword, and then at the fairy whose magic had to have done something to it. "You shined my sword?"

"I _enchanted_ your sword. Trust us when we say that sword is the most important thing you'll need."

"Um…okay. Why is the sword-"

Mercedes cut him off, "Puck, you don't have much time! If you want to save Quinn, you have to go _now_! She's at the top of the tower at the back of the castle"

"I don't know which way to go!"

"You might not think you do, but you do," Tina's response was somewhat vague.

"That and there's only one way out of this tunnel," Mercedes gestured to the only pathway.

"I think Tina wanted to say 'his heart will guide him'," Rachel suggested. "Way to ruin the moment."

"Don't make me ruin your face."

"Puck, why are you still standing here?" Tina kept focus and gestured Puck toward the exit. "Go!" She and the other girls watched him run to the rescue.

"Way to take charge, T."

"He had to go. The curse on Quinn is about to take its full effect."

"What curse?" Santana inquired.

"Yeah, and why was the sword most important?" Brittany added.

"Sue cursed Quinn with the _Sleeping Death_ ," Rachel told them. "It puts Quinn in a deep, death-like sleep unless she can be revived with True Love's Kiss. That's the sleeping part. If he doesn't get to her in time, well…"

"…that's where the 'death' part comes in," Mercedes finished.

"The sword is important because of its enchantment," Tina went on. "Sue is pretty much unstoppable with magic and that sword is the only thing that can stop her, _hopefully_." She said the last word quickly and quietly hoping no one could hear her.

But Santana heard. "Hopefully?" she questioned with a quirked brow.

"The prince can do it!" Brittany kept optimistic. "I know he can."

"Yeah, yeah, good always triumphs over evil, happy ending, true love conquers all, blah, blah, blah. I'll believe it when I see it."

…

Making his way to the tower, the prince stayed alert, keeping a close watch for the evil queen and readying himself in case she attacked him with magic. As he stepped outside to the back of the castle, the tower came into view. With a running start, he raced toward the tower.

"I must say," he stopped in his tracks when a surprisingly calm Sue appeared from out of nowhere to stand in his way, "you're far more persistent than I thought you to be." Puck gave her an icy stare. "You are just impossible to kill, aren't you? Your fiancée on the other hand, well..."

"What did you do to her?"

"Does it really matter? Once my curse takes a full effect, she'll be dead; and so will you." Sue tried to strike him with magic, but Puck was able to protect himself with the shield. "Hmm, it seems I underestimated the powers that protect you," she sighed. "I really didn't want to do this." All Puck could was watch in horror as Sue transformed into a giant, fire breathing dragon.

The final battle had begun.

While it would seem the edge would go to the giant, fire breathing dragon, the prince did have an advantage with the enchanted shield being able to block the green fire the dragon spewed at him. Puck would defend himself against the dragon's attacks with his shield as he ran toward the tower. He would also dodge to opposite sides and run in a sort of zig-zag formation to avoid blows from her spiked tail or massively sharp claws. This went on for a few moments before Dragon Sue used her spiked tail to not only harm her opponent, but damage his shield. Not really knowing what to do next, Puck threw aside the shield and ran to the top of the tower. He regretted not thinking his plan through because he unfortunately found himself cornered. In addition to the enormous dragon, he was on the balcony of the tallest tower and one wrong move could cause him to fall to certain death. There was also the fact that Sue had used her tail to destroy the balcony guard rails and blocked his exits with fire.

Trying not to panic, Puck found himself reaching for his sword, the only protection he had against the monster. Given the way the dragon destroyed his shield, it probably wouldn't take much for her to destroy the sword either. Still, the sword was the only thing he had and one of those fairy's statement of the sword being the most important thing he needed was repeating in his head.

And then, as if by instinct, he knew what he had to do.

The prince waited until the dragon was directly in front of him, let out a battle cry, and threw the enchanted sword at what he thought was a weak spot...the dragon's heart.

Once hit, Dragon Sue let out a deafening roar of agony before transforming back into her original self. Once in her human form, she pulled the sword out of her chest. This proved to be a mistake on her part because once the sword was out, Sue began to crumple into dust. What she did not know at the time was that in order to obtain dark magic, one had to give up their heart. The magic would be all that kept said person alive until their evil task was completed within a certain time frame.

Evidently, Sue had not completed her dark task and ironically, she was the one destroyed. However, despite the evil queen's demise, everything remained the way it was (which Puck had to admit he wasn't expecting). Sue had sought out to kill Quinn with magic, but it seemed that she hadn't succeeded in doing that. So whatever was affected by Sue's dark magic would remain the way it was unless Puck could break the spell in time.

The remains of the former queen were blown away in all directions as the enchanted sword magically appeared at the prince's feet. Remembering why he fought Sue in the first place, Puck picked up the sword—he had to be prepared because everything Sue's magic touched remained and she may have created more obstacles. Using his sword and his strength, the prince broke down the blocked door of tower. The next thing he knew, he was inside of the tower where his sleeping beauty was being kept.

"Quinn," he whispered aloud before dropping his sword and running over to her. "Quinn!" He held her lifeless body in his arms. "Come on Quinn, wake up." Puck tried desperately to wake her up, but nothing worked. "Please wake up!" Still, she remained unresponsive. "No," he set her body back on the bed and stood at her side with a defeated stance. There was nothing he could do. "I'm sorry Quinn," he gently brushed a strand of her hair back in place. "I'm so sorry." He leaned in close. "I love you," and he gave her one last kiss before falling to his knees and sobbing.

Quinn slowly opened her eyes. Blinking herself into focus, she couldn't help but wonder how she was awake...unless True Love's Kiss did indeed break the curse. Her theory was confirmed when she saw her true love on his knees at her bedside looking down and weeping. With a smile, she got off the bed and knelt down beside him. She got him to look up at her when she gently took his face in her hands and wiped away his tears. "I love you too." Puck pulled her into his embrace. "I knew you'd save me."

He was the first to let go. "I uh...I kinda wish you didn't see me cry like this; you could've said something you know."

"What, and ruin that beautiful moment? That would be rude of me." Puck couldn't help but laugh at that. "Besides," Quinn placed her hands in his hands and leaned in closer to him, "this is more romantic." This time _she_ kissed him and the effects of Sue's magic began to disappear; everything went back to the way it was before as the sun began to rise in the background...

...though the kissing couple didn't really notice any of that.

…

Before anything else could happen (and because all of the arrangements had been made), the wedding of Prince Puck and Princess Quinn took place the following day amidst a great celebration. All of their friends—Beiste and Emma, Santana and Brittany, the dwarfs, the fairies, and even Will (who returned to normal after the curse was broken)—stood front, center, and proud. At the reception in the ballroom, the newly married royal couple made their grand entrance wearing what they had worn at the ball that took place there a few days ago. Standing at the top of the stairs, Quinn tossed her bouquet into the crowd expecting Emma to catch it. However, the bouquet was caught by Finn, who was taken by surprise when it landed in his grasp. Finn was about to protest when she noticed the warm smile coming from Rachel, and then he was actually sort of glad that he did catch the bouquet.

Hand in hand Puck and Quinn began making their way down the staircase until Quinn stopped. When she saw Puck's anxious expression, she tilted her head toward the glass slipper on the staircase. Ever the gentleman, the prince grinned as he retrieved the slipper and placed it back on his princess' foot before they made their way downstairs and took their place in the center of the ballroom...

...and began dancing before the music even started. With an understanding sigh, Beiste gestured for the composer to conduct as the newlyweds continued dancing.

"Just like old times, huh?" Puck's remark made Quinn smile. "So I've been meaning to ask you: when were you going to tell me you were really a princess?"

Quinn pretended to think up an answer. "When my knight in shining armor saved the day."

"Did he?" Quinn shook her head no, confusing Puck. " _No_?"

"I didn't need the knight in shining armor after all; I knew my prince would come."

The two shared another True Love's Kiss and, as it is with these fairy tales…

**_..._ **

"… _they lived happily ever after!" Beth excitedly finished. "See Daddy, that didn't suck."_

_Puck couldn't help but chuckle. "Thanks, Beth. Now will you go to bed?"_

" _Hey, how come I wasn't in that story?"_

" _Um…because nine months after the prince and princess married, that's when Princess Beth made her appearance."_

" _How come it was nine months?"_

" _Remember when Mommy and I told you about the new baby; how we said it takes nine months for a baby to be born?"_

" _I 'member."_

" _Good."_

" _But then I asked where babies came from and you said you'd tell me later. It's been later: where do babies come from?"_

_Puck blew out a nervous breath and anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…see…it's actually…um…"_

" _I think that's a story for another night, Beth," both Beth and her father turned to see a slightly rounder Quinn standing in the doorway. "Daddy told you your story, now it's time for bed."_

" _Yes, Mommy," Beth obeyed._

" _Thank Daddy for the story, Beth."_

" _Night Daddy, thank you for the story."_

" _Night Beth," Puck gave his daughter a kiss._

" _Night Mommy."_

" _Goodnight Beth," Quinn blew her daughter a kiss and turned off the light as her husband joined her in the hallway. "I see your storytelling skills have improved."_

_Puck shoved his hands in his pockets. "I just copied them stupid princess movies."_

" _She likes to watch those movies, and you secretly do too."_

" _Yeah, but is it so wrong for her to watch the_ Avengers _?" Quinn quirked her brow to him. "It's technically_ Disney _! And Black Widow is a far better female role model than them princesses by far."_

" _Tell you what: next time we'll tell her a superhero story."_

" _Deal," they started for the bedroom. "Speaking of kick ass women: have I told you that you kick ass at being a mom?"_

" _Thank you."_

_He got no immediate response. "What; no compliment back on my awesome dad skills?"_

" _I don't want to let it go to your head." He rolled his eyes at her as he climbed into their bed. "But yes," she settled herself on her side of the bed, "you are an equally awesome father."_

" _Thank you."_

" _Goodnight, my handsome prince."_

" _Sleep well, princess."_

_And they shared yet another one of their True Love's Kisses._

* * *

 

 

 

 


End file.
